It won’t MAKE Colorado coach Jon Embree’s in-state recruiting any easier after his new in-state rival just won a national championship for Alabama tonight.

Starting in the second half, Jim McElwain and CSU were mentioned in the same sentence on the broadcast about a dozen times. Maybe I’m overestimating the power of television but I have to think that will have an effect in homes of Valor Christian and Mullen athletes, not to mention every household in Texas, Florida and California.

I’m writing this an hour after the final whistle and I’m sure McElwain, at this minute, is in the Alabama locker room calling CSU recruiting prospects. Can you imagine being a 17-year-old kid in suburban Denver and the phone rings.

“Hello.”

“Hi, son, this is Jim McElwain. Did you see us just win the national championship just now.”

“Yes! That’s you? Really? You’re calling from New Orleans?”

(He cuffs the phone and yells, “HEY, DAD! IT’S COACH McELWAIN! HE’S CALLING FROM NEW ORLEANS! YES, THAT NEW ORLEANS!”

“I just wanted to tell you that the offense I designed to put up 384 yards on LSU’s defense is the same one I’m running in Fort Collins next season. Want to be part of it?”

“Where do I sign? What’s your fax number in that locker room?”

Sure, McElwain is off to a late start on recruiting but you have to think he’ll land some big-time stars that would’ve thrown CSU letters in the trash if Steve Fairchild was still the coach. And if McElwain doesn’t? Maybe CSU is a lost cause.

Less than 24 hours after the last snap is taken in tonight’s national championship game between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama, Jim McElwain will be in his office at Colorado State, officially beginning his undivided tenure as head football coach.

The question for CSU fans who watch tonight’s game will be: How much of what is seen from the Alabama offense, which, as offensive coordinator, McElwain currently runs, translates to what might happen with the Rams next season?

The short answer: No one knows. But it’s fun to speculate. And we do know a few facts.

First, Colorado State’s personnel was recruited for, and is tailor-made to play, a pro-style offense. Second, McElwain runs a pro-style offense with the Crimson Tide, which has personnel including a conventional quarterback, a big-time running back and some skill at wideout. There isn’t an exotic Houston or Oklahoma State feel to what Alabama does schematically.

Third, CSU’s new offensive coordinator is Utah State’s Jim Baldwin. Utah State’s offense was a tad more spread-oriented given the skill set of athletic freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton, but even Baldwin was called on the carpet by Aggies fans for being conservative with his play-calling at times and a too-close affinity for calling bubble screens.

Still, on introductory press conference last month, McElwain shrugged off any preconceived notions on what kind of offense he might run.

“When you look at my background, offensively, we threw it all over the park before I had gotten to Alabama,” McElwain said. “I tried to throw it all over the park the first spring there. There were some of these SEC guys that were rushing us; I learned we better do something other stuff. You understand what I’m getting at? And also we were built that way. So it’s a little bit skewed.

“I think we threw 17 passes in the fourth quarter this year. Going into the third quarter we probably threw it more than we ran it. No one understands that. We’re not ever going to be a team that just runs the score up on people. Let’s make sure we have this thing won, now let’s go have a barbeque after the game on the back porch.”

No matter what, it’ll be fun to what tonight and at least try to envision what CSU might look like next season.

Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com

Colorado is still awaiting word from four four-star recruits who would be the stars of second-year coach Jon Embree’s first full recruiting class.

Two are cornerbacks and considering the Buffaloes’ inexperienced, injury-depleted unit last year, they could step in immediately next fall. Embree has yet to receive a commitment from a four-star recruit.

According to Buffstampede.com, the highest-rated recruit remains cornerback Yuri Wright, ranked third at his position nationally out of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. Buffstampede.com indicated he liked his visit to Notre Dame better than Colorado, which he termed as “very good,” and is also considering Michigan, Georgia and Rutgers.

The other four-star cornerback is Kenneth Crawley of Woodson High in Washington. He fell almost into Colorado’s lap Friday when he de-committed from Tennessee, not a good sign for Volunteers coach Derek Dooley who’s already No. 1 on my 2012 hot seat list. Crawley has visited Colorado and will visit Kansas Friday. He is also considering Maryland and Michigan.

Four-star defensive end Kyle Kelley of Woodbridge High in Irvine, Calif., visited Boulder in December and has committed to Arizona but is still talking to the Buffaloes and Oklahoma. Kelley, who had 40 sacks his junior and senior years, makes his official visit to Arizona Friday.

The final four-star recruit is tight end Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick of Whitney High in Rocklin, Calif. Ranked seventh at his position, he committed to Southern California in June but is still in contact with Colorado, Oregon and UCLA.

I can’t imagine Colorado adding another women’s sport this spring other than lacrosse. It’s a natural.

Athletic director Mike Bohn has said ever since Colorado joined the Pac-12 last year that he hoped to add another sport. The conference’s new $20 million-per school TV deal will make it that much easier. I said when they joined that sources indicated women’s lacrosse would be the first new sport and I’ll stick to that.

Lacrosse is one of the strongest girls sports in Colorado high schools, and a local collegiate league is right there for membership. The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, based in Woodland, Calif., and established in 1992, could use an eighth team and Colorado would have a natural rivalry with Denver. The other six teams are Stanford, Oregon, California, Cal-Davis, St. Mary’s and Fresno State.

Colorado has also the facilities with Prentup Field serving as home to the women’s soccer program since 2003.

As much as I’d love to see the BCS go the way of the hula hoop, brontosauruses and Rainier Beer, the idea of a split national championship is the most lunatic idea in the 14-year history of the BCS. While it may add to the chaos surrounding this abysmal championship format, a split national title would also taint The Associated Press poll for eternity and destine its voters into the depths of Dante’s inferno.

Not that the AP poll means anything anymore. It carries about as much weight as a junior college place-kicker. But if Alabama beats LSU in tonight’s BCS Championahip and AP’s voters put Oklahoma State No. 1, I will never read another AP story as long as I live. I will put an “AP” bug on my dartboard. I’ll sneak in to the nearest rifle range and place it on every bulls eye I can find.

This is a quick, easy review, folks. Alabama lost to top-ranked LSU on Nov. 5; Oklahoma State lost to 6-7 Iowa State on Nov. 18. What’s there to interpret? Okie State defenders claim the Cowboys were distraught after the plane crash that killed their women’s basketball and coach and his assistant the day before. OK, we’ll grant them that.

Does that mean the loss doesn’t count? Does the loss come with an asterisk? Should we weigh teams’ emotions when analyzing their body of work?

I imagine Alabama would wipe any neutral site in the country with Oklahoma State’s facemasks if they ever played. That’s not the point. The point is Alabama is the only team in the country that came within 13 points of LSU and a win in basically the Tigers’ back yard makes it worthy of a national championship.

Giving a trophy — any trophy — to Oklahoma State after beating Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl only because its freshman kicker joined college football’s long list of choking place-kickers is a personal slam at Alabama, college football and mankind in general.

I don’t care if Alabama wins tonight, 2-0, on a bad snap out of the end zone. Tonight’s winner deserves to be unanimous national champion.

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.